Showing papers by "Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution published in 1970"
TL;DR: In this article, a simple model of forcing by a wind stress was used to estimate the phase, amplitude and intermittency of bursts of inertial oscillations in the mixed layer.
464 citations
TL;DR: Spectra of sun and skylight backscattered from the sea obtained from a low-flying aircraft show that factors other than chlorophyll also affect the water color in some instances; these factors include other biochromes, suspended sediment, surface reflection, polarization, and air light.
Abstract: Spectra of sun and skylight backscattered from the sea were obtained from a low-flying aircraft and were compared with measurements of chlorophyll concentration made from shipboard at the same localities and at nearly the same times. Increasing amounts of chlorophyll were found to be associated with a relative decrease in the blue portion of the spectra and an increase in the green. Anomalies in the spectra show that factors other than chlorophyll also affect the water color in some instances; these factors include other biochromes, suspended sediment, surface reflection, polarization, and air light.
247 citations
TL;DR: Gas chromatography demonstrates the presence of No. 2 fuel oil in the sediments of the affected area and in whole oysters Crassostrea virginica and in the adductor muscle of the scallop Aequipecten irradians.
Abstract: A spill of 650,000 to 700,000 l of No. 2 fuel oil has contaminated the coastal areas of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts (USA). Gas chromatography demonstrates the presence of this oil in the sediments of the affected area. Two months after the accident, essentially unchanged oil is still being released from the sediments. The presence of the same pollutant is demonstrated in whole oysters Crassostrea virginica and in the adductor muscle of the scallop Aequipecten irradians. A presumably biochemical modification leads to a gradual depletion of the straight chain and, to a lesser extent, of branched chain hydrocarbons. This does not result in detoxification, as the more toxic aromatic hydrocarbons are retained in the organisms several months after the accident. Scallops from an uncontaminated area contain hydrocarbons in lesser amounts and of very different molecular weight and type distribution; they are accountable entirely from biological sources.
242 citations
TL;DR: The Norwegian Sea is considered as a typical Mediterranean basin for which an inflow of light, surface water is required to balance the overflow of deep, dense water formed by the action of the atmosphere at the sea surface within the basin this paper.
204 citations
TL;DR: In the mid-1970s, two cruises of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's R/V Chain provided nearly continuous seismic, geomagnetic and gravity measurements along 8,000 km of ship track.
Abstract: During mid-1967 two cruises of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's R/V Chain provided nearly continuous seismic, geomagnetic, and gravity measurements along 8,000 km of ship track. These measurements supplement earlier ones from various sources to provide a comprehensive picture of the composition and geologic history of the continental margin off eastern North America, an area that is much larger than all of the United States east of the Mississippi River. The geomagnetic profiles portray a systematic pattern of positive and negative anomalies that are in accord with the concept of sea-floor spreading, whereby North America separated from Europe and Africa at the beginning of the Permian Period, and drifted westward from the site of rifting (the Mid-Atlantic Ridge) at average rates of 0.8-1.4 cm/year. During all this time the continent has been coupled firmly with the adjacent sea floor, as though both continent and sea floor were on the same conveyor belt. Gravity information suggests that a relict structure of the original rift is preserved in the same general area as the geomagnetic slope anomaly, beneath the seaward part of the continental shelf, the continental slope, or the upper continental rise. It has the form of a complex linear ridge of crystalline rocks that rises above the zone of sharpest landward slope of the Mohorovicic discontinuity. Seismic refraction measurements support the presence of such a ridge, bordered on both sides by linear trenches. The continuous seismic reflection profiles measured during the cruises reveal shallow acoustic basement in the form of a ridge complex that is shallower, but in the same general area, and probably is related to the deep ridge. The ridge and associated trenches served as dams and b sin sinks to trap land-derived sediments during the Mesozoic Era, so that only pelagic silts and clays could reach and be deposited on the irregular oceanic basement seaward of the barrier. During Late Cretaceous to middle Eocene time one or more thick deposits of probably chemical origin formed blankets of deep-sea chert throughout broad abyssal plains, which produce the acoustic reflector known as Horizon A. About middle Eocene time the land-derived sediments filled the trap west of the ridge and prograded eastward over the ridge top and built the present continental rise atop the Mesozoic abyssal plain. Continuous seismic reflection profiles show that the rise is a huge prism of generally seaward-dipping, interbedded pelagic sediments and turbidites that contain many masses of sediment displaced from higher on the continental rise and from the continental slope. Such slides continue to occur, a large one having occurred in 1929. The volume of the Cenozoic continental rise in the study region is nearly 3 million km3, about half the volume of all sediments deposited on basement during Mesozoic time. The interbedding of sandy turbidites with organic-rich silts and clays displaced from the continental slope may constitute a thick sequence of oil reservoir and oil source beds, but no exploratory drilling into them has been done.
190 citations
180 citations
TL;DR: Three distinct sedimentary units, which can be correlated throughout the basin, occur in cores collected from the Black Sea, and help to define the recent sedimentary history of theBlack Sea.
Abstract: Three distinct sedimentary units, which can be correlated throughout the basin, occur in cores collected from the Black Sea. Carbon-14 ages help to define the recent sedimentary history of the Black Sea.
156 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that diffusion in unconsolidated sediments generally proceeds at rates ranging from half to one twentieth of those applying to diffusion of ions and molecules in free solution.
156 citations
TL;DR: The presence of HEH in marine vertebrates suggests that, within the animal lipids, hydrocarbons are remarkably stable.
Abstract: An olefinic hydrocarbon (all-cis-3,6,9,12,15,18-heneicosahexaene, “HEH”)_was islated from marine planktonic plants and animals. Its structure was established by ultraviolet, infrared and mass spectrometry in combination with chemical techniques. The olefin occurs in many species of marine planktonic algae and is probably derived from the corresponding docosahexaenoic acid. Rhincalanus nasutus accumulates HEH nonselectively from its algal food together with the triglyceride lipids. Other, related copepods contain little or no HEH even when grown in cultures of algae that provide R. nasutus with that olefin. The presence of HEH in marine vertebrates suggests that, within the animal lipids, hydrocarbons are remarkably stable. This work has practical implications for studies of the marine food web and of marine pollution with persistent chemicals.
137 citations
TL;DR: Isoleucine has been found to undergo a slow racemization reaction in a 5-meter sediment core taken from the Atlantis fracture zone, calculating an age of 1.23 million years for the bottom of the core.
Abstract: Isoleucine has been found to undergo a slow racemization reaction in a 5-meter sediment core taken from the Atlantis fracture zone (water depth, 4014 meters; actual location, 30°15.79N, 43°18.99W). The amount of racemization increases with increasing depth below the sediment-seawater interface. This isoleucine racemization reaction was used to calculate an age of 1.23 million years for the bottom of the core.
128 citations
TL;DR: Photosynthesis and growth in cultures of four marine phytoplankton species, isolated from different oceanic environments, were affected by three chlorinated hydrocarbons to varying extents, with results ranging from complete insensitivity in Dunaliella to toxicity at concentrations of 0.1 to 1.0 part per billion of the pesticides in Cyclotella.
Abstract: Photosynthesis and growth in cultures of four marine phytoplankton species, isolated from different oceanic environments, were affected by three chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT, dieldrin, and endrin) to varying extents. This ranged from complete insensitivity in Dunaliella to toxicity at concentrations of 0.1 to 1.0 part per billion of the pesticides in Cyclotella. Other forms were intermediate in their response.
TL;DR: Freeze-etched replicas of logarithmically growing, as well as stationary, E. coli B cells revealed a smooth, finely pitted cell surface in contrast to cell surfaces seen with other preparative methods.
Abstract: Survival of Escherichia coli, quick-frozen under conditions similar to those employed for freeze-etching, is close to 100%. For determination of cell shrinkage, the diameters of freeze-etched E. coli cells (average, 0.99 mum) were compared with those of preparations after negative staining and after ultrathin sectioning. Negatively stained cells measured from 0.65 to 1.0 mum in diameter, and ultrathin sections showed average cell diameters of 0.70 mum. Freeze-etched replicas of logarithmically growing, as well as stationary, E. coli B cells revealed a smooth, finely pitted cell surface in contrast to cell surfaces seen with other preparative methods. The frozen cell wall may cleave in two planes, exposing (i) a smooth fracture face within the lipid layer and (ii) in rare instances an ill-defined particulate layer. Most frequently, however, cleavage of the envelope occurred between wall and protoplasmic membrane; large areas of the membrane were then exposed and showed a surface studded with predominantly spherical particles, an appearance which did not significantly change when the cells were fixed in formaldehyde and osmium tetroxide before freeze-etching. The distribution of these particles differed between logarithmically growing cells and stationary cells.
TL;DR: The concentration of mineral grains, phytoliths, fresh-water diatoms, fungus spores and opaque spherules was measured in air and surface water samples collected during two crossings of the North Atlantic between Barbados-Gibraltar-Plymouth, U.K. and New York (September, 1965).
TL;DR: Plankton samples taken during the cruise of R/V Atlantis II in the Black Sea during March and April 1969 were analysed for their 13C/12C ratios and showed uniform δ13C values near −23 parts per 1,000.
Abstract: PLANKTON samples taken during the cruise of R/V Atlantis II in the Black Sea during March and April 1969 were analysed for their 13C/12C ratios. The results showed that over a large area of the Black Sea the plankton had uniform δ13C values near −23 parts per 1,000. A sample from a very pronounced diatom bloom, however, was enriched in 13C by 1.5 parts per 1,000. This isotopic shift was apparently produced by the organisms' accelerated carbon fixation which had decreased the available supply of inorganic carbon.
TL;DR: Appreciable amounts of suspended matter in surface waters are restricted to within a few kilometers of the Atlantic coast, and particles that escape estuaries or are discharged by rivers into the shelf region tend to travel longshoreward rather than seaward.
Abstract: Appreciable Amounts Of suspended matter (> 1.0 milligram per liter) in surface waters are restricted to within a few kilometers of the Atlantic coast. Particles that escape estuaries or are discharged by rivers into the shelf region tend to travel longshoreward rather than seaward. Suspended matter farther offshore, chiefly amorphous organic particles, totals 0.1 milligram per liter or less. Soot, fly ash, processed cellulose, and other pollutants are widespread.
TL;DR: Boron is preferentially partitioned into the liquid phase in high-temperature reactions of basaltic rocks and sea-water as mentioned in this paper, and it is used to prevent peridotite serpentinization.
TL;DR: Lumps of crude oil residue floating the sea surface have been observed widely and chemical analysis suggested that certain lumps had been at large for only a few weeks; data from barnacle size and growth rate suggested that other lumps were at least 2 months old.
Abstract: Lumps of crude oil residue floating the sea surface have been observed widely. Samples were taken with surface-skimming nets in the Mediter-ranean Sea and eastern North Atlantic Ocean; their displacement volumes were as large as 0.5 milliliter per square meter. An isopod, Idotea metallica, appears to be associated with the lumps, and a barnacle, Lepas pectinata, grows upon them. Lumps were found in stomachs of Scomberesox saurus, a surface-feeding fish importanit in ocean food webs. Films on the lumps, presumably consisting mostly of bacteria, consumed oxygen at the rate of 4 cubic millimeters per hour per square centimeter of lump surface. Chemical analysis suggested that certain lumps had been at large for only a few weeks; data from barnacle size and growth rate suggested that other lumps were at least 2 months old.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors measured the dip of downgoing lithospheric plates by inspecting published vertical sections of relocated hypocenters beneath Pacific and Indian island arcs and found that the maximum dip of the slab in a particular section, as determined by the hypocenter configuration, is inversely proportional to the distance from the section to the pole of relative motion of the two plates involved.
Abstract: Dips of downgoing lithospheric plates were measured by inspecting published vertical sections of relocated hypocenters beneath Pacific and Indian island arcs. For any one arc the maximum dip of the slab in a particular section, as determined by the hypocenter configuration, is inversely proportional to the distance from the section to the pole of relative motion of the two plates involved. Considering several oceanic arcs, a common inverse relationship exists between the dip and the relative rate of convergence of the plates at the location of the measurement. This dip-rate relationship may be a manifestation of the heavier downgoing plate that is sinking to an equilibrium (vertical) position.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that suspended matter is dominantly layer silicates which are interpreted as resuspended bottom material, and that the distributions of particulate Al and Fe are controlled largely by the suspended silicates, and there is no evidence that free ferric hydroxide phase is important.
01 Jan 1970
TL;DR: The mineral surface simply acts as a selective lattice in catalysis and epitaxis and amino-acids may polymerize to peptides and proteins once they are attached on a solid surface.
Abstract: Amino acids asymmetric polymerization on clay minerals, discussing aspartic acid and kaolinite experiments
TL;DR: In this article, the erosional and constructional processes appear to have formed physiographic features near the shelf break along the southeastern United States, as indicated by extensive echosounder profiles, rock-dredge material, and bottom photographs.
Abstract: Both erosional and constructional processes appear to have formed physiographic features near the shelf break along the southeastern United States, as indicated by extensive echosounder profiles, rock-dredge material, and bottom photographs. Between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, four distinct physiographic areas are delineated, each having characteristic morphologies and lithologies. The ridges and well-defined troughs on the outer shelf and upper slope (depths of about 50 to 150 m) between Cape Hatteras and Cape Fear may be related largely to earlier Gulf Stream erosion, and the rocks (algal limestones and sandstones) and sediments dredged from these features probably are mainly Holocene, relict shallow-water deposits forming a thin veneer over this erosional surface of the sea floor. Relatively rapid accumulation of pre-Holocene sediments may account for the general absence of pronounced physiographic features on the outer shelf and upper slope from Cape Fear to Cape Kennedy . Ledges, small terraces, and rises (depths of 50 to 110 m) in this area are probably Holocene features eroded into, or constructed on the pre-Holocene sediments, which are covered by transgressive Holocene algal limestones and sandstones similar to those collected to the north. The lithology, together with radiocarbon dates of rock material, indicate that well-defined ridges in depths of 70 to 90 m between Cape Kennedy and Palm Beach are relict oolitic ridges or “dunes” formed during the Holocene transgression; these features are now covered by modern Oculina sp. coral debris. From Palm Beach to Fort Lauderdale, where the continental shelf is narrow and shallow, a small ridge present at the shelf break (15 to 30 m) is thought to be an “inactive” coral reef.
TL;DR: Gravitational data in the eastern Mediterranean area have been compiled from Woods Hole Oceanographic cruises of the R/V Chain in 1964 and 1966, and supplemented by other shipboard and land measurements as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Gravity data in the eastern Mediterranean area have been compiled from Woods Hole Oceanographic cruises of the R/V Chain in 1964 and 1966, and supplemented by other shipboard and land measurements. Over most of the area, free-air anomalies are negative and Bouguer anomalies are consistently lower, by 50 to 100 mgal, than in the western Mediterranean. Broad negative free-air anomalies (−80 to −240 mgal) and low positive Bouguer anomalies (0 to 80 mgal) follow an arcuate zone, concave northward, south of Crete from western Greece to the Rhodes abyssal plain. Relatively high anomalies (free-air anomaly as high as −60 mgal and Bouguer anomaly of +100 to +140 mgal) centered over the Anaximander seamounts separate the arcuate low south of Crete from a similar trend south of Cyprus that gradually becomes less distinct toward northern Syria. Cyprus is characterized by free-air anomalies greater than 100 mgal, Bouguer anomalies of from +100 to +250 mgal, and some of the world9s largest positive isostatic anomalies (as great as +173 mgal). A crustal-structure model was constructed for a profile south from Turkey, approximately along long. 31°E., toward Egypt. The simulated structure showed a range in depth to the top of the mantle from 23 km beneath the outer margin of the Nile Cone to 34 km beneath the axis of the Mediterranean Ridge. A free-air anomaly gradient of about −1.2 mgal/km to the north over the southern margin of the Mediterranean Ridge corresponds to a downward slope on the crust-mantle interface of about 7° to the north. The thickening of the crust by almost 50 percent north of 34°N. is interpreted as largely due to underthrusting of Mediterranean crust beneath Cyprus, the Anaximander Mountains, and Turkey. A concomitant thick accumulation of sediment may have further downwarped the crust beneath the Mediterranean Ridge.
TL;DR: The contribution of organic sulfur to the hydrogen sulfide lies between 3 and 5 percent and increases with depth, likely causes for the increase are increasing productivity or upward movement of the anoxic zone during the facts last 2000 year.
Abstract: A combination of measurements of carbon-13 and the hydrogen sulfide content in Black Sea waters with available data on the total carbon dioxide in these waters indicates that the contribution of organic sulfur to the hydrogen sulfide lies between 3 and 5 percent and increases with depth. Likely causes for the increase are increasing productivity or upward movement of the anoxic zone during the facts last 2000 year.
TL;DR: Ahermatypic corals, and hermatypiscopic corals without zooxanthellae, have Sr and U concentrations that are greater than those of reef corals containing zooxants as mentioned in this paper.
TL;DR: The same visual orientational systems which allow these bats to return rapidly during homing experiments may also facilitate flights to and from feeding areas and aid in the search for new sources of food as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: The volume transport of bottom water in the western basin of the Atlantic Ocean has been determined by dynamic calculations for seven oceanographic sections made during the International Geophysical Year between 32°S and 16°N as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: A layered, basic igneous intrusion, analogous in mineralogy and texture to certain large, continental layered complexes, is exposed in the Romanche Fracture, equatorial Atlantic Ocean.
Abstract: A layered, basic igneous intrusion, analogous in mineralogy and texture to certain large, continental layered complexes, is exposed in the Romanche Fracture, equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Crustal intrusion of large masses of basic magmas with their subsequent gravity differentiation is probably one of a number of major processes involved in the formation of new oceanic crust during sea-floor spreading.
TL;DR: A bathymetric survey of the offset in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Crest at approximately 53°N revealed an east-west offset of 190 nautical miles and a north-south offset of 75 nautical mile as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A bathymetric survey of the offset in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge Crest at approximately 53°N revealed an east-west offset of 190 nautical miles and north-south offset of 75 nautical miles. The offset is filled with two valleys separated by a sill below 1900 fm. The valley strend approximately 95° east of north and are inconsistent with spreading poles calculated for the north Atlantic. Their trends have been used by earlier authors to calculate poles of rotation. It is proposed to name the offset The Gibbs Fracture Zone after the ship that made the survey.